


Breath

by Amelinasa



Category: The Brave (TV 2017)
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2018-03-28
Updated: 2018-07-29
Packaged: 2019-04-14 07:02:57
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 11
Words: 19,011
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/14130675
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Amelinasa/pseuds/Amelinasa
Summary: "He was holding his breath and felt like his lungs might explode. The idea of Jaz going undercover alone…again… It was making him sick. "





	1. Chapter 1

**Author's Note:**

> I’m not giving up on Missing Scenes, but my last chapter gave me ideas, so, here we are, a new fiction, for us Bravers!   
> Still waiting for a renewal, and still sorry for my English, which isn’t as perfect as I would like it to be.

The first time Dalton laid his eyes on this guy, he didn’t like him.

First of all because he was a politician dressed in a uniform. And he didn’t like politicians, no matter what they were wearing. He sure loved his country, he was ready to die in duty, and he trusted the DIA with his life, literally, but politics were not his thing.

Secondly, because when the guy came by their Quonset hut, his eyes went directly to Jaz, who was laughing to something McG had said to Amir. And Dalton didn’t like what he saw in the man’s eyes. Surprise, interest, and something far too close to lust for his liking, making him narrow his eyes and clench his fists.

Of course he was aware of the way many men looked at her, he wasn’t stupid or blind. Jaz was beautiful, fiercely stunningly beautiful, whether she was wearing her old, used training clothes, or going undercover in a fancy dress. She was still beautiful. But since she used to keep any one but her guys at arm length, he didn’t really mind, even if sometimes, he had to restrain himself from kicking some asses, although she was completely able to handle herself. Those times, he reminded himself that he was her CO, and that whatever he was feeling would only cause her troubles. 

The man came to him and extended his hand to Dalton with a smile and a nod.

“Captain Dalton, I’m Edward MacArthur, I’m here in the name of lieutenant colonel Bradley. Nice to meet you, I’ve heard a lot about your team…”

His eyes lingered back to Jaz, who was now boxing with Preach. Dalton took the extended hand and shook it a little bit too hard, making MacArthur wince and turning back to him.

“To what to we owe the pleasure?”

“A mission… A direct order from the White House…”

Dalton raised his eyebrows and mentioned for the man to follow him. They passed McG and Amir, who looked curiously at them. Jaz and Preach didn’t even notice them, and Dalton was kind of glad for that. He hated the way this man looked at Jaz, and he hated how little control he had over his feelings in moments like this.

Once inside, they settled around the table. Dalton crossed his arms and waited. McArthur took a seat and studied his surroundings, before looking back at him.

“Let’s cut to it. We have an issue.”

He opened his wallet and took a thick file, of which he took off a picture showing a man sitting in a restaurant.

“This is Mike Malden, an undercover agent whom we suspect of high treason. He infiltrated a young and powerful international criminal organization, whose members call themselves “The New World”. We have serious evidences against him, but we need to send someone to check things, and to eliminate the threat if treason is established. “

“Why are you telling me this?” Dalton asked coldly.

Patricia was the one to call them for missions, and to have the representative of a lieutenant colonel coming all this way for a mission made him nervous.  
MacArthur didn’t seem to notice.

“The New World is active in every sector. Drugs, pimping, human trafficking, organs trafficking, money laundering… It’s well organized; it seems to have eyes and ears in every continent, they are impossible to catch… We don’t know who the gang leader is, and Malden was supposed to provide us information… The thing is, we need someone inside. Someone who could approach him, someone who speaks different languages fluently and who can eliminate a threat if necessary… like someone who can shoot a moving target from a moving point…”

Dalton tensed and frowned. He didn’t like where this was going, he didn’t like it at all.

“Sergeant Khan had been recommended by your superiors for this mission…”

Dalton had to keep himself from storming out. Of course MacArthur had read their rapports. Of course, he had read how Jaz had managed to shot the target from a moving car. Damn it. 

He was holding his breath and felt like his lungs might explode. The idea of Jaz going undercover alone…again… It was making him sick. He couldn’t even think about it without feeling terror churning his stomach. He had thought once that he had lost her… He had spent hours not knowing what had happened to her, waiting while she was tortured. He couldn’t go through that again; he would lose his mind… But he was her CO, and he was supposed to obey orders, no matter the cost. Every feeling he had tried so hard to compartmentalize was spinning out of control. He tried to stay composed when he answered.

“What are you waiting from us?”

“She would be going alone. We can’t risk for your team to be compromised, it could ruin the whole mission…” MacArthur said with a meaningful glance.

So, he had read all the reports. 

“Look, we’re still deployed; Sergeant Khan will be needed here…”

“She’ll be gone for a month, we’ll provide you a snipper until she comes back. Like I told you, it’s a direct order from the White House, I didn’t come here to ask for your permission, but to inform you. Still, I’ll let you break the news to your team, I’ll be back tomorrow to talk with Sergeant Khan… Thank you for your time, captain Dalton.”

Dalton shook the extended hand and watched the man leaving the Quonset hut, while Preach was coming in. He had never wished that much that he had other choices than obey orders.

The phone rang and Dalton knew immediately who it was. When Patricia’s face appeared, she looked at him and sighed.

“Judging by your face, you’ve already met MacArthur… I’ve just learned what they are planning to do, but I didn’t know they would be that fast…”

“So, direct orders from the White House, hum?”

“I hate this, but I’m afraid we don’t have a choice Dalton… “

He ran a hand in his hair and over his beard, making Preach come to sit next to him, sensing that his CO was distressed.

“I have a meeting with lieutenant colonel Bradley in fifteen minutes; I’ll keep you in touch…”

Dalton nodded and cut out the connection. He kept starring at the black screen, deep in thoughts. It had been eight months since Iran, six since Hoffman. Preach was back, and Dalton was hoping that everything would come back to normal. Just the five of them, missions, horseshoes, and soccer. Their last deployment had been rough, they deserved normal.

“Top?”

Dalton swallowed the lump in his throat.

“They have a mission, an undercover one… And they want Jaz to do it…”

“Without us having her back?”

“Without us. Direct orders from the White House…”

Preach shook his head in disbelief.

“Okay, then… What are you going to do?”

Dalton closed his eyes. He didn’t have much a choice. He had to tell her.

“We’re soldiers, Preach. Orders are orders.”


	2. Chapter 2

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> "They had burst through the walls she had carefully elevated in her heart, blasting everything she knew with their trust, their laugh and their love. "

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thank you so much for taking the time to read and to comment this story! Thank you for the kudos too!

Jaz remained silent. She didn’t know how to react, and that was new for her. 

She hated the idea of not being with her team, of not being there to watch their back, for a whole month. When she had stayed behind, while they were dealing with a hostage situation in Colombia, she had been terrified of losing them. If Iran had taught her something, it was to never take anything for granted, and how much she cared about them. So, no, she wasn’t completely at ease with the idea of being away for a month.

But on the other hand… She had been chosen to complete a mission, with a recommendation of her superiors to the White House. It was…intoxicating. She had grown up with a mother who was weak, with an abusive father. Streets and boxing rings had been her home more than her parents’ crappy apartment. She had never thought that one day, she would find a family of her own, and a job who would suit her. Yet, there she was. It hadn’t been easy. Being a woman wasn’t easy; her father had made sure for her to understand that. For years, she had been subjected to his perverseness and his cruelty. Then, she had had to prove herself, at school first, but mainly when she decided to enlist with the Army. She wasn’t tall, and she was thin. She had seen how recruiters had looked at her, with amusement, condescension, and worst of all, pity. It had made her angry enough to blow their minds with excellent results. Nobody had been there to cheer her, to congratulate her, to be proud of her. She was used to keep everyone at arm length.

Then, she had met Adam, and Eli, and Preach, and McG. They had trusted her with their lives, they had been proud of her, and she hadn’t realized how alone she had been until she had met them. They had burst through the walls she had carefully elevated in her heart, blasting everything she knew with their trust, their laugh and their love. 

She was lost and she didn’t like it. 

“McArthur will come by tomorrow to give us all the details…”

McG let out a breath.

“They could have the whole package, that’s insane… Don’t get me wrong Jaz, I know you’re going to be amazing, but why keeping us here?”

“Let’s say that the guy had read the report about Iran…” answered Dalton darkly.

It was his fault. But he couldn’t regret it, he couldn’t even imagine letting go of Jaz. She was his teammate, his best friend, and something more, something far too important to just give up on. But now, she was sent in whatever dangerous mission, alone, and he couldn’t do a single thing to change that. It was driving him crazy.

Jaz looked at her guys. Amir was the only one to smile.

“Congrats Jaz, it’s a great honor, you deserve this…”

McG snorted and rolled his eyes.

“Of course she deserves this, but still, I don’t like it…”

Preach glanced at Dalton, who was looking at his hands. His shoulders were tense, and Preach could easily imagine what was going through their CO’s mind. He looked at Jaz and smiled.

“It makes me nervous to have someone else watching my back; you better come back quickly…”

Jaz smiled gratefully at the older man. She saw him mentioning silently at McG and Amir to follow him. The three men excused themselves and stumbled out of the Quonset hut to start a barbecue for dinner.

Jaz’s eyes went to their captain. He was frowning, still looking at his hands.

“Top…”

He raised his head and she was unsettled by the storm of emotions she could read in his eyes. There was something raw, a vulnerability she had only seen once. It was on that afternoon in Teheran, when she was about to walk into Farim Jarif’s penthouse as Aida. She had seen how tortured he was, but she had thought that he was still angry at her for missing that shot.

Now, she wasn’t that sure. She swallowed and took a deep breath.

“Talk to me…”

He almost smiled when he heard those three words coming from her. And at the same time, he couldn’t ignore that sick feeling in his stomach. He had a bad feeling, and as he looked at her, his gut was telling him to stop her, to beg her not to go. But he couldn’t.

“Just… Be careful out there, okay?”

Jaz smiled and came to sit next to him.

“It’s just I have a bad feeling…”

“Do you trust me?”

How could she even doubt that. He trusted her more than he trusted anyone. At the beginning, when she had joined the team, he had watched her, keeping a distance with her. Just watching her fight, laugh, being focused on a target. And it had been fascinating, more than it should have been. She was strong, fierce, and stunning. But he had sworn to himself that he wouldn’t be like many leaders, taking advantage of their rank over female teammates. Even if he couldn’t help, but be attracted to her. Then Elijah had died and he had thrown off the distance he had been keeping. She needed him, and he would be damned if he didn’t give her everything he had to help her mourning her best friend. They had begun to talk, to really talk. About their past, mostly. He knew hers, he was her CO after all, and he had had access to her file. So he had made the talking most of the time. He had partnered with her. He had been there every step out of the grief back to normal life. And that was it. He would never dare to name the feelings he had for her, because it could ruin her career, because he refused to be the caricature of the captain falling for the only woman of the team, because he knew that naming those feelings would be a point of no return for him.

“You know I trust you… I told you, you have nothing to prove to me, or to anyone else… I just have a bad feeling, but I know you can do it…”

She wanted to kiss him. Badly. And not just because of how respectful he was, in their line of work, sexism was the norm far too often. But Adam was the best CO she had ever had. She had never felt inferior with him, whether it was because of her rank or of her sex. He had always made her feel like she could do anything she wanted to. She felt trusted and safe with him, and she felt also much more about him, far too much. He was her CO, there was a line she would never cross. But it made her heart ache every time he looked like he was carrying the weight of the world on his shoulders.

“I’ll miss you…”

She blinked at him. Adam was never very talkative about his feelings; to say that she was surprised was an understatement. She tried to ignore how fast her heart was beating and offered him that crooked smile of her.

“I’ll miss you too…”


	3. Chapter 3

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> "Jaz wondered, not for the first time, if someday one of them would be crossing that line they had been carefully avoiding."

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thank you soooo much to each one of you who commented or left kuddos

She could feel his eyes on her. They were having a last evening of fun before her departure. 

MacArthur had left a few hours earlier, after explaining the mission to her. She was supposed to be a Lebanese business woman, Laila Adjouri. They had made up a whole false identity; Laila didn’t have any family, went to Harvard, and made her way through business, both legal and illegal. She was supposed to meet with Malden, who was going to introduce her to The New World organization.

A CIA agent would go with her as her bodyguard. She had seen how Dalton was glaring at that MacArthur guy, and how he tensed any time the spokesman touched her arm or told her to call him Edward. She wasn’t stupid, she had noticed how he was looking at her, but she didn’t think Dalton would mind that much. He had asked many questions, about the mission, about security, about escape plan. She would have snapped at him for being so difficult, if she hadn’t seen how concerned Preach looked like while watching Top going over any detail of the mission. She wasn’t sure to know what was going on, she wasn’t sure to want to know, but it made her keep her mouth shut and she had tried to focus on the mission.

When MacArthur had left, Dalton had gone for a running, while the guys were planning a “see you soon” party.

And now, while music was playing, while Amir was taking advantage of a slightly drunk Preach over some kind of game involving money, Dalton was looking at her from afar. He had joined them later, and had gone to sit alone, a beer in one hand, his eyes lost in the distance. But now, she knew he was watching her. She always knew when his eyes were on her, it sounded corny or crazy, but she always knew.

“Be easy on him, Jaz…”

McG sat heavily next to her. She ignored him.

“Give the guy some credit, you scared the hell out of him when you were taken, I thought he was going to go mad! I can’t see I’m happy to have you going alone either… But I know how honored I would feel…”

“Oh, you know I’d pay to see you wearing a dress and high heels!” she joked, making him laugh.

“I wouldn’t need heels, I’m tall enough, you’re the tiny one…well, after Amir, it goes without saying!”

They both laughed.

“My point is don’t be pissed off at him…”

“I didn’t know you were the perceptive one? Preach is rubbing on you, be careful! You’ll find yourself throwing tea parties before you know it” she snorted.

“Well, I definitely would, I’d be a great dad…”

She laughed at that and took a sip of beer. McG smiled and gave her a gentle nudge with his shoulder.

“Be careful Jaz, being without you in Colombia had been bad enough, I can’t even imagine a whole month…”

When he went to join Amir and Preach, she stood and went to sit next to Dalton. He smiled at her but it didn’t reach his eyes. 

They looked at the others in a comfortable silence. Amir was trying to teach some kind of dance to Mc while Preach had left, probably to call his wife. Jaz smiled at that, drunken Preach was too much fun, she couldn’t even imagine what kind of conversation he would want to have with his wife.

“You ready?”

His voice was slightly hoarse from having been silent for hours. Jaz took a deep breath. She couldn’t tell if she was ready or not. She had read the file thousands of times, to learn her new identity. But even if she was eager to be on the field, she couldn’t shake off the knot in her stomach. She hated the idea of leaving her team behind, of not being there to watch their back. And if she was being honest, she was going to miss them like hell. To miss him. More than what she had thought. And she already disliked the guy who was coming, even if it was for a month, it felt like she could lose her place. What if they liked him more than they liked her? She wasn’t always easy to live with, after all. Elijah used to call her Jazinator sometimes… 

“Are you?” she asked without answering. She hated feeling that insecure.

Dalton kept his eyes on his beer.

“I think you’re going to be great…”

None of them was obviously ready to acknowledge how hard this month was going to be. Jaz wondered, not for the first time, if someday one of them would be crossing that line they had been carefully avoiding.

He wanted to tell her again to be careful. He wanted to take her hand, to let his thumb going over her wrist, to feel her pulse, to feel how alive she was. He wanted to fight everyone over this mission. He wanted many things, but none of them was possible. So he swallowed the lump in his throat instead.

Ooo

Adam was awake when the phone rang. It was 2am, but he couldn’t sleep. Jaz had been gone for two weeks, and it was hard on him, harder than he expected. The worst part of it was not having any news, or any contact. They all missed her, but he had realized how much he relied on her. He kept reaching for her when they were caught under fire, watching for her when he was facing a tough situation, waiting for her to joke when Amir was being teased. The new guy, James, was fine. But he wasn’t Jaz.

He sighed. They had just been back from an extraction in Croatia, and he was hoping to have some rest, since he couldn’t sleep.

“Dalton…”

His blood ran cold. Something was wrong, he could tell by Patricia’s grim expression.

“Adam… “

For the first time, he saw her hesitate.

“I’ve been in touch with Edward MacArthur…”

He frowned.

“So what? What’s going on?”

He had had the same feeling of dread when his sister had died. He didn’t know yet that she was gone, but while approaching his house, watching the police vehicle parked in front of his porch, he had known. His mind had been screaming at him to run away, while his body had kept moving toward the door.

He felt the same way while he watched Patricia closing her eyes and running a hand on her face.

“They had lost contact with their agent fifteen hours ago… They had sent someone to check on him and… And they had found his body in his hotel room… “

His hands were shaking, his mind was screaming, but words came out of his mouth.

“What about Jaz?”

It couldn’t be. It just couldn’t be.

“We don’t know… Adam, she’s missing…”

And then, the world fell apart.


	4. Chapter 4

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> "He knew she could handle herself, and didn’t need to be protected, but after the Iran disaster, he knew that his heart needed to be protected against the possibility of losing her."

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> THANK YOU!!!
> 
> You are amazing, your enthusiasm, your kindness are overwhelming!

It was a nightmare. It was a fucking nightmare.

He had already had many of them, with different scenarios. Sometimes, the team was taken and executed before his very eyes. Other times, most of them actually, it was just Jaz. Killed, or threatened, or kidnapped. He had always awoken drenched in sweat, nauseous, his heart beating madly and with the urge to go check on her, to make sure she was safe. Except he couldn’t. He usually went for a run to clear his mind and to find her awake when he came back, and very much alive with a mug of coffee in her hands and a smile on her lips. He knew she could handle herself, and didn’t need to be protected, but after the Iran disaster, he knew that his heart needed to be protected against the possibility of losing her. 

This time, there wouldn’t be any waking up. He was stuck with one of his deepest fear and the world was just falling apart. Jaz was supposed to be back in ten days or so, those two weeks had been a living hell. The longing had become unbearable; it had been quite obvious to everyone except the new sniper. He had been moody since her departure, snapping every once in a while. Preach was the only one daring to openly tease Dalton about it. 

How could everything turn so wrong? 

“What do you mean by missing?” he growled, barely registering how his hands were clutching at the table. Hot anger and blinding terror were bubbling in his chest. He knew deep down that he had to remain professional, but there was nothing professional about Jaz going missing again, it was all too personal, and even if his feelings were unwelcomed, he knew that the rest of the team would feel the same.

“She’s nowhere to be found, we’ve lost contact with her… Her room had been turned upside down, as if whoever is responsible was looking for something… But there is no trace of her, we’re looking at the hotel security tapes to find anything that could help us to locate her… “

“I ask permission to go there…”

Wherever there was, they didn’t even know where the mission was supposed to be. Patricia sighed but didn’t seem surprised. She wasn’t stupid and she knew Adam well enough to recognize that he would never give up any member of his team, let alone if this member was Jaz. She was aware of the special bond the captain and the young sniper shared, and since they were the best working together, she had chosen to just ignore how close they were. To be honest, she had had a bad feeling about this mission from the very moment the lieutenant colonel Bradley had called her to let her know that he was requisitioning Jaz. The lieutenant colonel was an honest man, but that Mike Malden reminded her too much of Hoffman. It hit close to home and it made her nervous.

“I’ll have to ask authorization for you to go, it might take a few hours… “

“Do as fast as you can…” Dalton said through clenched teeth. It would never be fast enough, he would give anything to already be looking for her.

“McArthur will be meeting with you in the morning; I’ve got a meeting with the lieutenant colonel in an hour… I don’t have all the information yet, Dalton, but I do intend to obtain it all…”

“Top?”

Preach and McG had heard bits of conversation from their room, and looked at him with a frown, sensing that something was wrong by the tension coming out of their captain. 

“Dalton, there is something else…”

He let go of the table, clenching his fists instead.

“Blood was found in her room… We’re running some test… to know if it’s hers…”

He swallowed the lump that had formed in his throat and fought to keep a hold on his feelings. He felt his dark side stirring with delight, fueled with his fury and his fear.

“I’ve got something!” said Hannah.

McG had gone to wake Amir and the newbie, so they were all gathered around Dalton. They had understood that something was wrong with Jaz and were waiting for their captain to update them.

“The hall security camera shows Jaz entering the elevator at 11pm… A man followed her inside… Then, at the first floor, she leaves the elevator and the same man is still following her… Look…”

The images came on the screen. He felt his chest tightening at the sight of Jaz. Her hair was loose, and she was wearing some fancy dress. She looked relaxed and at ease, even if he couldn’t see much of her face. He wanted so much to touch the screen, as if a contact would bring her to him. His attention went to the guy following her. Tall, brown, limping. And clearly focused on her.

“First floor? Jaz’s room wasn’t at the fifth floor?” said Noah.

“She knew he was following her…” said Preach.

Dalton nodded silently; he didn’t trust his voice to speak out loud.

“Then all the cameras went dark… The hotel manager said there was a massive power outage in the entire neighborhood… “

“What’s the hell is going on…” muttered McG, glancing at his captain.

He would never forget how Dalton had been desperate to go after Jaz in Iran, and wondered how he was going to deal with her missing.

“I’m working on identifying the man…” Hannah said.

“Okay, the lab sent me the results!” announced Noah, “The blood isn’t Jaz’s…”

A sigh of relief escaped from everyone.

“It’s Alexei Mirnoff’s… A mercenary who used to work for the Podolskaïa, wanted by Interpol and the FBI… We think he’s the one who searched the room, maybe Jaz got rid of the man following her and ran into Mirnoff in her room…“

Dalton looked at the picture of the criminal. He had already dealt with Podolskaïa’s minions, and the idea of men who sold women for a living going after Jaz was making him sick.  
Alexei was massive, and even with her fighting skills, the combat was unequal. The idea of this man hurting her was sending waves of rage through his body. He instinctively stepped back and he took a deep breath through his nose, to diffuse the tension that was consuming him.

Patricia’s face appeared on the screen.

“The fact that we didn’t find her blood shows that she probably beat him…”

“That’s my girl…” said Preach with pride.

That’s my girl… Dalton thought possessively. Fierce and strong… And alone who knows where…

“It doesn’t tell us where she is…” said Amir.

“Until now, we have had no ransom demand… We can’t say if she escaped and is hiding without any way to contact us for whatever reason, or if they have her… We still don’t know who they are, and why they would come after her. We can suppose that she had been exposed… This supposed that there is a mole… This operation had been ordered by the DOJ and the DOD, but lieutenant colonel Bradley didn’t share many details with me, not more than what MacArthur shared with you actually…”

“With all due respect, director Campbell, we need to know everything about this mission… They can’t keep us in the dark when one of us is risking her life and is missing!”  
His tone had been sharper than intended. Patricia nodded.

“I agree, Dalton…”

“We don’t know yet about the connection between the “New World” and the Podolskaïa organization… But we’re working on it…” Hannah added.

“I have to go to the meeting; I’ll keep you in touch…”

“Copy…” muttered Dalton, scrubbing his face with his hands.

“And Adam… We’ll do everything to bring her back…”

He nodded and ended the connection. He stared at the black screen, thoughts and emotions spinning out of control in his head. He had to focus, Jaz needed him.  
He felt a hand on his shoulder.

“Jaz is strong and smart… We’ll find her…” Preach said.

Dalton nodded to thank him. He had been stupid, incredibly stupid. He should have gone with her, he should have insisted more to have the whole team going… At least, in Iran, he had known that she had been taken… But now, they had no clue about what had happened to her, and his worry was overwhelming. She was lost somewhere in the world, and there was no other option than to find her at all costs.

oOoOo

Jaz sat on the dirty floor of the old abandoned house, her breath short and cramped. She had escaped her aggressors, it came close for them to find her, but fortunately, they, whoever they were, couldn’t fit in the small passage she had been able to sneak into. She had lied on the floor when the flashlights had scanned the area, and her legs were still shaking with relief when their steps had moved away and finally left.

She didn’t have any idea of what was going on. She had had an interesting evening with Malden. There had been a party hosted by the hotel owner, and Malden was there to represent a mysterious client. She had used her Lebanese accent and the legendary bat of her eyelashes to get to him. But he was smart, and didn’t give much information.  
It was frustrating; it had already taken two weeks to meet him. Of course, those two weeks had been necessary to make her cover more credible, and to gather some information. But she had to admit that she missed her team, even McG’s snores looked more appealing than being alone far away from them. And if she was being honest, she was missing Top more than she thought it might be possible. The hardest part was being unable to contact them. As a precaution, she didn’t have any way to contact anyone, she wasn’t supposed to initiate any contact, and her “bodyguard” was supposed to be the one to give her any information or order she needed.

Then, there had been that party, and everything went according to the plan… Until a man followed her on her way back to her room. Until she had to get rid of him and went to find the CIA agent dead. Until she had to fight against a man twice her size and weight, to finally escape him and his friends. For now.

Something was bothering her, something stinging. She touched her shoulder and felt something sticky and hot. Blood.

“Shit…” she muttered, feeling the pain which had been numbed by adrenaline so far. 

She didn’t even remember hurting herself. It was a cut, deep but nothing lethal. 

“McG, you’re never here when you’re needed…” she mumbled.

She leant against the wall with a grimace and looked above her with a sigh. She had been outed, that was quite obvious, and otherwise, who would go after a woman who didn’t exist? She couldn’t trust anyone anymore. She had to find a way to get out and to contact her team. But first, she had to do something about her wound. And to find clothes.   
Alone and unarmed in an unknown country.

“Shit…”


	5. Chapter 5

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> He remembered her telling him that people like them didn’t do powerless very well. It was an understatement. Powerless was a thing. Vulnerable, shattered, haunted, were other things he didn’t do very well

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> First of all, thank you so so sooo much for your kind and adorable comments. You are amazing! Thank you for reading, I mean it, The Brave fandom is incredible!  
> I struggled with this chapter, I know exactly where I’m going, but I’ve had amazing however busy holidays (and believe me, as a single mom, when I say busy, I mean it!), and a lot of work of research about Crime Organizations, about South Africa (don’t ask me why, just a fluke), etc  
> I know my English isn’t perfect, but I hope you’ll still enjoy this!

When Elijah had been killed, Jaz had been behind him to catch his falling body. She had fallen too, pulled by his weight. And for a few minutes, the time for the rest of the team to reach them and to secure the area, they hadn’t known what was going on. They had heard Jaz’s heartbreaking scream, and gunshots, and a deafening silence that had sent his heart in his throat. He would never forget how still she was under Eli’s body, with her gun in her hand and her eyes on the sky. He would never forget how long it had been before McG told them that all the blood on her clothes wasn’t hers, how she had refused to let go of her best friend’s body, how her heart wrenching sobs had been painful for all of them.

He had hoped to never live that kind of torture anymore. But then, Iran happened, and after that, he had made sure to keep her by his side. He knew he was already crossing lines by doing that, but he was haunted by the image of her blood on the white outfit she was wearing when they had got her back.

Waiting was painful. He was aware of each second passing, and each second seemed to last an eternity. He remembered her telling him that people like them didn’t do powerless very well. It was an understatement. Powerless was a thing. Vulnerable, shattered, haunted, were other things he didn’t do very well. 

Preach came to him as he stood in front of Jaz’s room. He hadn’t even realized that his feet had dragged him there. The door was closed and he was just standing there.

“Top…”

He took a shaky breath and raised a hand.

“Don’t… Preach, don’t…”

His voice was hoarser than he expected, and he had to swallow hard. He couldn’t take compassion, not when he was fighting to keep a hold on his feelings, not when the only thing he wanted to do was to go after whoever was responsible for Jaz’s disappearance and make them pay.

Preach nodded and remained silent. 

“I don’t know if I can keep doing this…” he said, his voice barely above a whisper.

“Doing what?” asked Preach quietly.

“Being a CO…”

Both knew he meant being her CO.

“I can’t blame you for that… But that’s who you are, who you both are. Even if it’s hard, it’s worth the risk. You not being our CO won’t change who you are, and she’ll always be the same smart ass and incredible shot she’s right now… Except you wouldn’t be with us… Would it be easier if we had another CO and you had to watch her going away?”

Dalton had already thought about that, and the idea was making him sick.

“Maybe acknowledging some connections would help both of you to cope with whatever is thrown at you…”

“Preach…” he warned.

He couldn’t do that to her. He couldn’t throw them both into a cliché situation, he knew how hard she had to fight her way to Omega Forces, and he would never forgive himself if he ruined this for her. She deserved better, she deserved to be respected as a soldier, and she deserved someone who wouldn’t jeopardize her career, someone who wasn’t broken.

“Look Top, we’re here, with you. We’ll do whatever has to be done to bring her back…”

He didn’t answer, not trusting his voice, but he nodded. He was terrified of loving her. And even more of losing her. And if he couldn’t help the first, he would do anything to prevent the last. He had gone through a lot, he had survived many tough situations, that kind of love was almost foreign to him, but he knew deep down that her death would be the death of him. Maybe not physically, but he would be done; he would be the shell of the man he was. It was quite ironical given the nature of their jobs, but his life had never been simple, after all.

“Come on…”

Preach led him to the common area and set a cup of tea in front of him. They all seated around the table. The silence was thick and tense. They were used to be the ones into action, and not in the side lines. It was making them restless, nervousness coursing through each of them. They all loved Jaz, and even if nothing was admitted, they knew how Jaz was important to Top, the uneasy feeling in their gut was all too familiar for their liking. They heard steps coming in the Quonset Hut.

“Captain Dalton?”

Dalton stood and ignored MacArthur’s extended hand when the man came by him.

“I can only imagine how worried you all must be…” MacArthur said, dropping his hand. “I can assure you that we’ll do all we can to find her…”

Dalton didn’t like him. His gut was telling him not to trust this man. One way or another, he was getting Jaz back, there was no other option, no matter what this man was going to tell them.

“Then tell us everything…” he answered coldly.

MacArthur looked at them, and sighed.

“The mission was simple, she had to get some intel and then eliminate the threat… As you know, she had been chosen because we couldn’t send someone who would need a second shot to hit the target… She seemed to be the best choice currently available…”

“Damn straight, of course she is the best choice…” said McG with something like brotherly pride.

“She has been outed, that’s quite obvious, but we ignore who and how. Malden has gone dark, we have lost track of him, we suppose he’s responsible in one way or another, and we…”

“Tell us something we don’t know.”

MacArthur raised his eyebrows, somewhat offended. But as the four men were looking at him with that same annoyed expression, James being the only one who didn’t seem to want to shoot him, he didn’t comment and went on.

“The mission was in Durban, she was booked at the Hilton Durban Hotel as Leila Adjouri. There is no trace of her leaving the hotel, but let me show you this…”

He opened his suitcase and took out a computer.

“Due to the combine efforts of our respective teams, we’ve been able to track her… Take a look…”

The blurry image of a security camera showed a woman hugging the walls. The woman wasn’t very tall, she was thin, and when she looked around her to finally face the camera, Dalton felt like a fist was twisting his stomach. 

Jaz… Even blurry, he could recognize her features. He couldn’t see her expression though, or if she was hurt. Seeing her was as much a relief as upsetting. She shouldn’t be alone, she had a team, and they were supposed to have each other’s back.

“This is the security camera of a sport club in Durban Point, the Point Yacht Club… There are a few abandoned buildings in the area… This was filmed four hours ago… An hour after she left the elevator… “

“Four hours? Why haven’t we been informed earlier?” asked McG, frowning.

Dalton had to keep his boiling anger in check. Four hours… So many things could have happened in that period of time, and he had to focus to keep his growing panic away.

“We’ve prepared for many scenarios, but there is something we can’t figure out, our teams had to be sure of what happened before sending anyone else there…”

“We need to know everything about that Malden…”

MacArthur chuckled.

“You know it’s not possible…”

Dalton felt anger pulse in his veins. He put his clenched fists on the table and leaned toward him.

“You think it’s funny? A member of my team is missing, and you think it’s funny?” he growled.

Amir, Preach and McG exchanged worried glances. Even James had guessed that Dalton would do anything to bring back Sergeant Khan safe and sound.

“Come on, Captain, with all due respect, this is your job. Putting your lives on the line is a part of it, and danger isn’t new to you and your team…”

“It might be a part of the job, but not when it can be avoided…” Dalton replied with an icy cold voice, recoiling slightly.

“The mission was simple, something happened and we don’t know what yet… But if this is too personal, we can…”

As Dalton opened his mouth to retort, probably something out of line, Preach beat him to it.

“We’re not just a team, we’re a family. That’s what makes us successful. We’re going to find her.”

MacArthur stared at Dalton, almost smirking when the Captain didn’t speak. He knew that Adam Dalton wasn’t the youngest captain in Omega Forces out of nothing. 

“Any questions?”

“What about the criminals who were after her? What do they want?” Amir asked.

“We don’t know yet… But we’re working on it with the DIA…”

It felt like no one knew anything. They were going there almost blind.

As none of them spoke, MacArthur rubbed his hands together.

“Fine, Director Campbell will contact you when her meeting with my superior is over. I’ll be staying on the Base, feel free to come see me if you have questions…”

When he left, they remained silent. At least, they had a lead… But they were still miles away, and she was still alone, fighting a threat none of them had anticipated. Dalton scrubbed his beard and put his hands in his pockets, keeping his eyes on the table. He had to compose himself; he couldn’t let anyone see how personal this was to him. He had to concentrate on the facts. He was her CO and that was a fact. And as her CO, he had to think tactically. 

“Something feels off…” Amir muttered.

“I know… “

He could feel it too. Something was bothering him, but he couldn’t say what. And Jaz was trapped in this, whatever it was…

OoOoOoOoO

The trip to Durban was uneventful. They landed separately in different airports, and met at a safe house. 

They had done the same in Iran, and it hadn’t done them any good. Dalton chased away those thoughts and focused. Jaz was somewhere nearby; they had to find her before their enemies. No being able to identify them, except for the fact that the Podolskaïa was involved in some level, was making them edgy.

They had landed at dusk, and they were now heading in the dark to Durban Point.  
The area around the Point Yacht Club was deserted at night; there were several condemned buildings and barracks in sheet steel. They walked along an empty parking lot. The place was gloomy at this late hour, the silhouette of some vehicle of construction hardly standing out against the darkness. They made their way silently, guns and eyes scanning their surroundings, the only sound being the waves and their breathing. Dalton mentioned to McG and Amir to move around the perimeter. 

The first and the second barracks were empty. Dalton had always been the quiet one, but at that very moment, as fear and anger were fighting for dominance, he just wanted to cry her name and to tear apart every barrack until he had her in his arms.

“Top… I think we have something… The fifth barrack…”

Amir’s voice sounded tense and Dalton tried to move as fast and as quietly as he can, followed closely by Preach and James.

McG was guarding the entry.

“This barrack is condemned, there is a small passage, I couldn’t fit in…”

Dalton looked at the small entrance, frustrated not to be able to go in there.

“Amir, buddy, what do you see…”

There was a brief silence, making them fear the worst.

“Top… I see blood… And footsteps… I think it’s Jaz’s…”

He felt a taste of bile in his mouth and fought the nausea invading him. She was hurt… And nowhere to be found… How many times did he wake up drenched in sweat after living that scenario in a nightmare? 

“Captain Dalton? Captain Dalton?... Adam!”

Patricia’s voice brought him back.

“Command, we found something… Some blood in an old abandoned barrack… We think it’s Jaz’s…”

He heard Patricia’s sigh.

“We have some news too… “

“I think we know why the sudden interest in Jaz…” Hannah added.

“We’ve scanned every video and every picture taken at the party Jaz was attending… We noticed someone who seemed fascinated by her, but who kept watching her from afar… An ex-SAS you’ve already met, who escaped while being transferred to Ankara…” Noah said.

Dalton felt like ice was running through his veins instead of blood.

“Victor…”


	6. Chapter 6

Jaz remembered the first time she got hurt on a mission with her team. They were somewhere in Afghans mountains, the mission was going smooth when all hell broke loose. There had been shouts, bullets flying, and as she had been running her head down to take cover, she had felt something hit her in her left shoulder. Pain had come when she had sat with her team behind some ruins, providing them shelter, and allowing them to breathe and to find a way out of that mess. She hadn’t said a word, she had been with the team for five months, and she didn’t want to be a burden. But then, Dalton had had McG rushing at her side, while he was staring at the blood pouring from her wound, his face tense and pale. When Elijah had sat next to her and had started to sing A Whole New World, Jaz had glared at him, but as he had kept singing out of tune, she had been unable to stop the chuckle that escaped her, and Dalton had relaxed, smiling softly. McG had started singing Jasmine’s lines while patching her up, and she had found herself laughing despite the pain. They had finally made it out, and Jaz had known from that day that she belonged with them. 

She didn’t know what had happened at the hotel, but she knew that her team would come, like they had already done. She had to find a way to contact them. And even if the idea was comforting, she needed to move, and fast since sun was going to rise. 

She moved to stand, wincing with pain. She had ripped a piece of her dress to slow the bleeding by hardly wrapping the wound in it. She waited for a few minutes, listening to any noise that might be coming from the outside. Everything was quiet, so she slipped out of the barrack, staying in the shadows. She had to avoid driving any attention to her, and with her ripped dress, her disheveled appearance, and blood all over her hands and her arm, the less she was seen, the better it was.

Click.

The sound was all too familiar. She was supposed to be the ninja, but she was probably far more tired than she had thought. She felt the cold metal pressing on her temple and froze, her heart beating madly in her ribcage. 

She had always been ready to die on duty, but at that very moment, all she wanted was to live, fiercely. She had felt the same way when she had thought that she was going to be executed in an Iranian prison. That wild desire to survive, the unbearable fear of not making it. When she had started her career as a soldier, she had been reckless. At that time, she had nothing to lose, except her life, and it didn’t matter that much. No one would miss her anyway, her father had wanted her dead from the moment she was born, her mother was far too weak to know what she wanted.

But then, Top had come, with his deep blue eyes that had seen too much, his calm strength, his trust and his respect. He had been an anchor in the storm that her life was. Elijah had become her best friend without her even noticing, McG and Preach had been big brothers to her. And then, life was suddenly worth it. She still wasn’t afraid of death, but it wasn’t welcome anymore. 

So, she stopped, cold sweat running along her back, swallowing the lump in her throat. She didn’t see her life flashing right before her eyes. She just thought that she had left her room messy, and that maybe she should have written a letter to Amir too, he would be hurt to be the only one without a last letter from her. When Elijah had died, she had been unable to consider including anyone else in her family. She regretted it now, Amir was a good man. Maybe she should have told McG that she was the one using his fluffy towels, and that he deserved more than one night stand relationships. Maybe she should have told Preach that she would have liked having a father like him. Maybe she should have said more to Adam, about how important he was to her, about how a good man he was, about all those words dancing on the tip of her tongue every time they found themselves sitting together under the stars, speaking about everything and about anything. 

“Why are you here?”

Her eyes widened. She had thought that it was one of the Russians that came after her at the hotel. But it wasn’t. It was Malden. She didn’t turn her head but kept her voice steady.

“I don’t know what you’re talking about…”

She heard him chuckling darkly. She felt dizzy, probably due to the blood loss, and fought to remain alert.

“Sergeant Jasmine Khan, one of the best snipper of the country, one of the only women managing to join the Omega Forces, under the command of Captain Adam Dalton…”

Shit.

“Why are you here?” he asked again, emphasizing each word.

“To find the truth…”

“He sent you, right? That bastard sent you to kill me?”

Malden seemed nervous and Jaz had to resist the temptation to try to tackle him. She was fast, but not as fast as a bullet.

“Look, I’m not armed; maybe you could lower your gun…”

“I know how lethal you can be, even unarmed…”

“Then, what are you going to do? Kill me?”

Don’t kill me…

“I’m not a killer…”

“No, you’re just a traitor…”

The gun pressed on her skin and she closed her eyes, taking a shaky breath.

“You don’t know me, you know nothing…” Malden hissed.

She didn’t have time to answer, something hit her hard on the head and she felt herself falling into darkness.

 

OoOoOoOoOoOoO

 

Dalton crossed his arms and stared at the sun rising. The safe house was the back shop of a bookstore, and while the guys were taking a nap, he couldn’t sleep. He never slept during a mission, except for five minutes naps, catching his sleep once the mission was over.

He wasn’t sure he would be able to sleep anymore. He probably would need to stay awake to make sure Jaz was still there… Once they had her back…  
He remembered telling Amir that they were the tip of the spear, that their job was always the next mission, that they weren’t the investigators. Following orders, waiting, it was a part of the job, he was used to it.

But this, being powerless, and doing nothing about it, when one of them was alone… It was hard. Probably the hardest thing he had to do for a long time. She was out there alone and hurt. How badly, they couldn’t tell, but he knew that it wasn’t good. He had seen the looks the guys had exchanged between them while they were heading back to the safe house, and how they had kept glancing at him as if he was a time bomb about to explode. He couldn’t blame them, they all remembered how distraught he had been when Jaz had been taken. He was barely holding it, he couldn’t get a hold on the feelings spinning out of control.

“Adam…”

He closed his eyes and took a deep breath.

“Director Campbell…”

There was a pause. He opened his eyes and frowned. There was something strange in her voice.

“Director?”

“Adam… We have some news…”

He wanted to cut off the communication, he wanted to stop the words he feared the most from leaving her mouth, he wanted to throw his earpiece away and to turn the city upside down until he found Jaz.

But he stayed, his feet glued to the ground, and his hands shaking.

“The local police found a body… We intercepted a communication… Adam…”

His blood ran cold. He swayed on his legs, and had to lean on the wall. 

“The description matches Jaz…”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Don't hate me :)


	7. Chapter 7

He was sure he had stopped breathing. He was aware of each second passing, of every heartbeat, of Patricia’s voice calling his name, of another phone ringing in the distance. But he was unable to react; he needed to understand, to process the mere idea of Jaz being dead. But nothing made sense, the world didn’t make any sense anymore. He couldn’t wrap his mind around this information, he just couldn’t. He knew he was supposed to keep his feelings in line, he was supposed to give orders, to find a way to confirm the information, but the only thing he was aware of was the unbearable pain.

“Top? Top! God, Top! Breath!”

McG appeared in his field of vision, followed by Preach, Amir and James. Apparently, the other phone ringing was Patricia calling Preach when Adam had stopped talking. She knew him, and she had been afraid of his reaction.

He blinked, trying to swallow the overwhelming fear that threatened to engulf him. He wanted to think rationally, he wanted to be the CO he was supposed to be, but if Jaz was dead… Then he didn’t know how to be him anymore. 

“Top!”

He hadn’t realized that it went that far, he hadn’t known that his feelings for her were that deep.

“Top, can you hear me?”

He had tried to fight it, pretending that not naming those feelings would make them less real, less important. He had been so wrong.

“Top… Adam! ” Preach yelled.

He raised his head and the older man felt his own throat tightening at the sight of the desperation in Adam’s eyes. He had known him for a decade, he had seen him lose people he cared about, but he had never seemed that distraught. Top had always been their rock, a solid presence they could rely on when they needed to, but right now, he needed his team to be strong for him, even if the idea of losing Jaz was unbearable for all of them.

“Top, we need to find out if it’s her… We need to… If it is… We need to bring her back home…”

He had never wanted that bad to be able to wake up, and to realize that this entire mission had just been a horrible nightmare. He ran his hands over his face. There was still a chance that she was alive, that the body found wasn’t hers. He didn’t know how he was going to react, but he knew that he needed to see the body with his own eyes. The gaping hole in his chest ached so much, but he had to do it, he had to go and bring her home if she was… How could a word be so painful… 

And if she was still alive, then she needed them, there was not one minute to lose.

OoOoOoOoOoO

He let McG do the talking, following him in a dull silence, only nodding with a faint smile when he had to. McG was glancing at him from time to time, but kept playing his role. They were both wearing white lab coats, and were heading to the morgue. 

“This way…” McG said casually.

He was putting up a front for the mission, but he hated this. Jaz was the little sister he never had, he would be devastated if she was dead, but Top… The last time he had seen him that distressed, he had shot a man to get information about where Jaz was held captive. He had seen people in pain, but the sharp pain he could read in the captain’s eyes was just unsettling. He couldn’t even imagine what he would do if she had been killed.

“Okay… Here…”

They entered a room, walls of which were made of drawers. McG felt a chill go through his spin. He was a doc, in the military, he had seen his fair share of dead bodies, but he would never get used to morgues. The coldness, the silence, the smell. He hated it. He looked at the file in his hands. The body found was in one of those drawers. Number 25-B.  
He gulped and glanced at Top. The captain was staring at the drawers with haunted eyes, his hands shaking.

“Top… You okay?”

Dalton nodded. No, he wasn’t okay, he wouldn’t be okay as long as Jaz wasn’t with them, alive, safe and sound.

“Let’s get this over…” he said, his voice hoarse.

McG cleared his throat and went to the drawer in front of him. 

25-B.

Dalton clenched his fists, digging his nails into his skin, to stop himself from running out of the room. McG pulled the drawer, and for a few seconds, they stood still, staring at the body. 

Long dark hair. A small and thin and Middle Eastern young woman.

But definitely not Jaz. 

Dalton took a step back, then another, until he was leaning on a wall. He felt dizzy, he couldn’t feel his legs and his heart was threatening to jump out of his chest. He closed his eyes and took a shaky breath.

Jaz was alive. Of course, she could be dead, just not in this morgue, but he refused to think like that, not when he had thought for almost an hour that he had lost her. She was alive, she had to be…

“It’s not her, man, it’s not her…”

“God…” whispered Patricia in their earpiece.

Relief was palpable. McG closed carefully the drawer. He turned to Dalton and opened his mouth, to be interrupted by Preach’s voice.

“Top… We’re receiving a call on a scrambled channel… A man, he wants to talk to you… In person, through a video call…”

Dalton frowned.

“Top, we think it’s Malden…”

OoOoOoOoOoO

“Captain Dalton, nice to meet you…”

On screen, Malden appeared relaxed, but Dalton noticed how he kept glancing at his left, as if he was hiding something.

“You asked to talk to me…”

Malden swept some sweat on his forehead. So much for seeming relaxed.

“I think we have mutual interests…”

“How so?”

Dalton knew that Noah and Hannah were trying to figure out how and whence the call was coming. He had to buy them time, the man could be the key to finding Jaz.

“We’re both looking for traitors… The difference is that I know who you’re looking for…”

Dalton raised his eyebrows. He didn’t know much about the man, except that he had gone rogue a few months ago, swapping allegiances to play the double agent for the New World organization. But he didn’t care about that, the only thing that mattered, the only thing he wanted, was to find Jaz.

“I also know you, captain Dalton. I know how you care about your team, I know how far you’re willing to go to protect them… And I know that you have an even bigger weakness…“

Malden took the camera and moved it to the right. Dalton felt his heart skip a beat.

Jaz was in front of him. Her big brown eyes staring back at him, her hair loose and messy, and tied to a chair. Her eyes were shooting daggers at Malden and her lips formed a thin line. Beside a slight bruise on her jaw and her neck, she seemed unharmed. 

He drank in her sight, in the sight of how very much alive she was, and angry, and feisty, and so Jaz that he felt like life was slowly returning in his veins. She was alive. 

“What do you want?” 

His voice was sharp and cold. She was alive for now, but who knew where, and held captive by a traitor. Malden put the camera so that it was filming both him and Jaz.

“To talk to you, in private, without cameras, or DIA, or anyone listening. Then, I’ll consider freeing her.”

“When, where?”

“No, Top!”

Jaz shook her head, her big eyes begging him.

“Don’t do that! It’s a set up!”

“Shut up…” Malden said through gritted teeth.

Dalton could feel the others’ eyes on the back of his head. He felt his heart racing. The choice wasn’t hard to make. Just like he had been ready to send his team to safety and to stay behind in Iran, just like he had been ready to die trying to rescue her, he didn’t have a doubt about his choice.

“Top, please, listen to me!”

Jaz was struggling on the chair.

“Shut up…”

“Jaz, it’s okay. Malden, tell me when and where, I’ll be there…”

“Top, no! Don’t do that, it’s not worth the risk!”

How could she say that? Didn’t she realize how many people would be devastated by her death? Didn’t she realize how destroyed he would be?

“Adam, don’t come! You…”

“I SAID SHUT UP!” roared Malden, striking her in the face.

Dalton could hear McG swearing, but he was blinded by his own rage, and struggled to catch his breath.

“Don’t touch her!” he shouted, standing with his fists on the table, glaring at the screen.

Jaz raised her head, blood on her lips, looking pissed as hell. Malden put a gun against her temple and it was all Dalton could do not to lose his temper. His blood ran cold.

“Tonight, Isipingo Hills, at the old train station… And come alone, it would be a shame to put a bullet in that pretty head…”

Malden cut the connection. The silence afterwards was tense and heavy.

“Dalton…” 

“I’m going, director Campbell, with all due respect, I’m going no matter what…”

She sighed in his earpiece. Of course, he would go. 

“Top… That’s insane…” started James.

Amir, Preach and McG didn’t even try, they knew it was a lost cause. Dalton took a deep breath.

She was alive.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thank you so much for your adorable reviews, and your enthusiasm.   
> Reviews are life and no, I’m not doing too much :D


	8. Chapter 8

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> It’s past midnight here, I’m supposed to be asleep, but I wanted to post before going to bed!  
> Thank you so much for the reviews, each one made my day, truly!  
> This chapter is quite long, I struggled more than usual with my English! I read it many times, but forgive me if there are still a few mistakes XD  
> I hope you’ll enjoy, there are many revelations in this chapter…  
> Take care and let me know what you think :D

« James is freaking out, just so you know… » Preach said casually.

Top shrugged and checked one last time the map of Isipingo Hills. The zone was at the south of Durban Point, twenty minutes from the safe house. He was a few hours from getting Jaz back, and he wouldn’t let anyone or anything get in the way. He needed to focus, so he was going to do so, no matter what. He didn’t have time to care about the newbie’s hesitations about the situation.

“You know we’re coming with you, right?”

He raised abruptly his head, glaring at his friend.

“No.”

His tone was sharper than usual, but he didn’t mind. This wasn’t a routine mission, this was about saving Jaz. Of course, he knew how risky it was, he knew that he might be getting himself in harm’s way, it felt like going into the lion’s den. But if it was the price to save Jaz, then he was okay with it. He was willing to do whatever it would take to bring her back safe and sound. He could still feel rage and fear coursing in his veins, but he was determined to make Malden pay, and that certainly helped him to focus and not to let his feelings overwhelm him.

“Look, Top, I know you, and I get it, I do, but even you aren’t bulletproof, you need to have a backup…”

Top didn’t answer, he didn’t trust his voice. The relief of finding out that she was alive had been quickly replaced by dread. The way that bastard had hit Jaz had his blood boiling. He knew the look of a man who had nothing to lose, and Malden had that look. It made him even more dangerous. 

“He’ll kill her if he senses that I’m not alone… We can’t risk that…”

He had always known deep down that he couldn't protect his team from harm, not always, not completely, even if he would always do anything to prevent it. But this, this was too much. After Iran, after Hoffman, he had realized that if he was willing to sacrifice his own life, he couldn't imagine sacrificing his team. He clenched his fists, trying to get a hold on his feelings. 

He knew that he wasn’t thinking as clearly as to be expected from a CO, that the feelings he had been denying were clouding his judgment, but he also knew that he was good at his job.

“Top, if someone can get her back, it’s you.” Preach said, echoing his thoughts. “But you need us, and we’ll do everything to help you. And I know that director Campbell will too…”

“Preach, I appreciate, but I’m going alone… If he wanted to kill us, he would have asked for all of us to go…”

“You could be the target… “

Preach didn’t say the words, Preach never said the words directly, and Dalton sighed at the usual mambo jumbo, or spiritual jujitsu, like McG used to call it. He had thought about it, he could be the target, Jaz being the best way to get to him. But since he had never acknowledged those feelings, the man would have to be a mentalist to know what Jaz meant to him. 

Unless Malden had had access to the Omega forces files. Then he would have read the file about what happened in Iran. Dalton knew that he had showed his cards with this case, but he also knew that as long as he didn’t cross more lines, it wouldn’t be a problem. After all, he was known for being protective of his team…

Thing was, the lines had never been so blurry.

“I know that we’re running out of time, but I would have liked to have at least an idea of what the guy wants…”

“There are many things I’d like to know” Dalton growled. “Like how did Victor escape jail time…”

“I guess we’re going to find out… Something tells me that all this mess is bigger than just an agent going rogue…”

“I agree… But right now, our priority is Jaz… And I’m going alone…”

 

OoOoOoOoOoO

Jaz was furious.

At herself. At MacArthur. At Malden.

Her jaw was sore, and she could still taste her own blood in her mouth. Her shoulder was stinging like hell, and she was shivering, she was pretty sure that she was going to contract an infection. If she made it out of this mess alive, she would never again be a nuisance every time McG would have to inject antibiotics to any of them

She eyed Malden who was pacing, muttering unintelligible words to himself. Something in his demeanor was bothering her. He had told her that he wasn’t a murderer, yet he had threatened to kill her if Top didn’t do as told. He had seemed to know them, and he was visibly afraid of someone. He had seemed confident and relaxed when she had approached him at the party. The man facing her didn’t seem relaxed. She had expected a traitor, arrogant in the Hoffman way, instead, she was facing a man who seemed more desperate than anything else.

However, it didn’t matter. She knew that Top was going to do whatever had to be done to save her, and she would be damned if she let anything happen to him. Somehow, the mission had gone wrong, but she still could prevent it from going worst.

“They’re not going to come, you know…”

She was bluffing. She had seen Adam’s face, she had seen how relieved and afraid he seemed to be. Preach and McG had told her how he had fought to get her back in Iran.  
Malden glanced at her but kept pacing.

“There is a protocol, you know… They’re probably already out of the country…”

He snorted at that.

“You know they would never leave the country without you… They never did in Iran after all, they were willing to risk their lives… Especially the famous Captain Dalton… He seems to have a soft spot for you…”

Jaz clenched her fists and frowned. First Hoffman, then Malden… Were they that obvious? She wasn’t stupid enough to pretend that nothing was happening between Top and her, and as long as it stayed out of the radar, she thought that her secret was safe. They had never talked about the tension and the deep connection they shared, but they were aware of it. Jaz didn’t know what it meant for Top, but she surely knew that she was screwed.

“Why do you want to talk to him? “she shot back.

Malden smirked.

“Don’t worry, I have no intention to kill him, or you… For now… “

“Then, why kidnapping me? You could have just asked…” She replied, raising her eyebrows with skepticism.

“I can’t… Not when you all think that I’m a traitor… I would have been arrested and I would have been killed by them before having a chance to be judged… As long as I have you, I have his attention…”

Jaz opened her mouth to ask who “them” were, but she was interrupted.

“You have all my attention, now, what do you want?”

Jaz’s eyes went to Dalton, who stood at the entry of the room in the old train station Malden was holding her in. She felt the coldness of the gun again, as Malden pressed it to her temple. Dalton came closer, his eyes never leaving hers. Her throat tightened at the storm of emotions she could feel, a storm that matched the one she could read in his eyes.

“Jaz, you okay?”

She had missed his voice, so much, she had missed him so much, just like a giddy teenager. How came that his presence made her feel safe even with a gun pressed to her head?  
She nodded, despite the dizziness and the shivers and the hurt. 

Malden grabbed her by the arm and made her stand on her shaky legs. He pressed his gun in her back and they walked to Dalton.

“You’re going to search him…”

He locked his eyes with Dalton’s.

“One move and she dies. Don’t try me, I’m not an undercover agent out of nothing…”

Her hands were handcuffed in front of her. The gun pressed harder in her back. 

“Do it!”

Dalton raised his arms, letting Jaz’s hands search him. He never stopped looking at her, drinking in her presence. The feel of her hands on him wasn’t enough. He wanted to wrap his arms around her, to feel her heartbeat and her breath. They had always avoided any physical contact, staying close but never touching. They were well aware of the rules surrounding them. But at that very moment, he didn’t care. He wanted to touch her, to hold her. She was clearly hurt; there was blood on her shoulder and arm, dried blood on her lips, a bruise on her jaw.

Her hands were trembling, and when she stopped checking, she raised her head.

“You shouldn’t have come…” she whispered.

Malden withdrew her and put her back on the chair. Dalton felt his dark side coming to life, he pushed back the blinding rage, he had to keep things cool as long as Jaz had a gun pressed to her head.

“You wanted to talk to me, I’m here. Let her go, she’s hurt, she needs medical attention…”

“Does MacArthur know about our meeting?”

Dalton raised his eyebrows, startled by the question. He glanced at Jaz.

“He doesn’t. Director Campbell is the only one to know, she was on line when you called us…”

He didn’t miss the relief on Malden’s face. Of course they didn’t tell MacArthur, Patricia was covering him, like she had already done many times. 

“What would you do for the people you love, captain Dalton?”

Adam frowned. What was he playing at?

“That’s why you asked me to come alone? “

“What would you do if I killed her here, right before your eyes?”

He clenched his fists, his heart hammering in his chest. He didn’t understand Malden’s point, but he was afraid, more afraid than he had ever been. The idea of losing Jaz, of watching her die without being able to save her, it was insupportable.

“What would you do?”

Jaz was looking at him, she shook imperceptibly her head, begging him to walk away. 

He’d rather die.

“I would kill you…” he growled. 

Malden nodded, sizing him up.

“When I started to work undercover with the New World, I thought that it was a routine mission, maybe more dangerous, but nothing I couldn’t handle… I was so wrong… I realized that The New World had moles in many governmental organizations… I realized that my own hierarchy was involved… Especially one man, MacArthur… And somehow, he knew that I knew… “

Malden swallowed hard.

“I had… I had a wife, and a kid, a little boy, he’s only seven… One day, I received a video tape… They… They had them, they had my family… They killed Jenna, they killed my wife, before my very eyes, they put a bullet in her head… And they said that they would do the same to my son if I didn’t work for them…”

Dalton listened attentively. He didn’t know if he could trust the man, especially when said man had a gun pressed to Jaz, but something in his pain seemed authentic. Malden might be good, but his haunted eyes weren’t lying.

“So, I worked for them… I would have done anything to have my kid back… Then, a man named Victor came in the picture, working for the New World… This man was obsessed with a woman who fooled him, he wanted revenge… A woman who was in Special Forces…”

The pieces of the puzzle came together in Dalton’s mind. He could see that Jaz came to the same conclusion.

“I have to admit that the plan was smart… Outing me as the bad guy, calling for the best snipper to kill me, alone, without her team, and handing her over on a silver plate to Victor at the same time…”

“Why would we believe you?”

“Because you would kill for the people you love… Many people say that, but few know what it’s like to take a life, few would really kill… I know that you would, you already did… Just like I would, just like I have done…”

Dalton glanced again at Jaz. She was frowning but he could see that she almost believed the man. Malden was right. He had already killed for the people he loved. Xander would probably say that it was a way to feel in control, since he hadn’t been able to protect his little sister from his dad… And maybe it was… But the team was his family, and he was done denying how essential Jaz was to his life. 

“Then who attacked me at the hotel?” she asked.

“I saw the trap coming the second you approached me at the party… MacArthur didn’t know that I had read the files about your team, that I already knew you… So I ran away after the party… They probably changed their plans then…”

“Why would you read the files about our team? And how?” Dalton asked, crossing his arms.

He still wasn’t comfortable with the gun aimed at Jaz, but the more Malden talked, the more he felt that he wasn’t going to shoot.

“Joshua Sheppard…”

Dalton froze, Jaz looked at him quizzically. 

“He was my cousin, our mothers are sisters… He used to talk about his fellow Dalton… “

Jaz saw sadness and pain pass in Dalton’s eyes. 

“Josh… He was the friend I told you about… The one we lost in Fallujah…” he told her. “Why would I believe you, again? You could have read all of this in some file…”

“He always told me that you were good and honest… He told me about how much you loved green apples… And he used to call you top-shotter…”

Dalton took a deep breath. He still wasn’t sure of what was going on, but he was sure of one thing. There were few people using his nickname… And it certainly wasn’t mentioned in any file…

“I didn’t know who to trust anymore… So I used my relations to learn more about you and your team…”

Malden lowered his gun, and Dalton felt like a weight had been lifted from his shoulders.

“I’m not a killer… But I will do whatever it takes to save my son…”

He took keys from his pocket, and threw them to Dalton, who caught them and frowned at him. 

“I just wanted you attention…” Malden said, shrugging and putting his gun away.

Dalton went to Jaz and opened the handcuffs. He massaged gently her wrists and searched her eyes.

“You okay?”

She nodded. She stood and turned to Malden. He didn’t have time to react before she punched him straight in the face. Malden yelped in pain and his hands went to his bloody nose.

Dalton would have laughed at the man’s face if Jaz didn’t collapse in his arms. He lowered her on the ground, holding her. 

“I think I need McG…” she whispered, her eyes closing.

“Hey, hey, no Jaz, open your eyes, stay with me!”

But she was out. She was burning, but her breathing was regular, which kept him from freaking out. 

“You’re lucky…” Malden said, his voice muffled by his hands. “I would give up the world to have Jenna back…”

Dalton didn’t answer. He believed the man, but didn’t trust him. But again, Malden was right. He was lucky. And screwed.


	9. Chapter 9

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Okay. So it happened. It’s been cancelled.   
> I can’t describe how disappointed and pissed I am right now…  
> But we won’t give up, there is a campaign right now on Twitter, with #redeploythebrave  
> I’ve created a twitter account just to fight for this amazing show, you can follow if you want, it’s @RedeployTBrave  
> Be loud, be vocal, we’re not going down without a fight (did I tell you how pissed I am?)

“How is Jaz?”

Dalton looked toward the room where he had left McG and Jaz. Preach and Amir were both watching Malden in the third room. He pushed away the wave of fear that still threatened to engulf him and focused on the facts.

“McG says she’s going to be fine… He’s stitching her wound… She’s going to be fine…”

“A wound? Did Malden hurt her?”

“No, I don’t know how she injured herself yet… Probably when she was trying to escape from her attackers… But she’s going to be fine…”

Saying those words out loud didn’t make them more real, didn’t ease the bad feeling he had since the very beginning of this mission.

“Good… Malden?”

He told her everything Malden had said. Patricia remained silent for a few seconds.

“Do you believe him?”

He rubbed his beard.

“I do. He saw an opportunity to get some help by taking Jaz… So he seized it…”

“But you don’t trust him…”

It was more a statement than a question. Patricia was good at reading between the lines.

“I never trust a desperate man…”

He knew how a desperate man could snap. He had been desperate, he had lied, hurt and killed out of despair. And he didn’t regret it.  
He certainly wasn’t going to trust a desperate man.

“MacArthur doesn’t know that we have Malden, but we have to figure things out, and fast. Dalton, we’re investigating about Victor’s escape… But if he’s after Jaz, taking her away from the case could cost the kid’s life… If either MacArthur or Victor suspects anything, they’re going to get rid of the boy…”

Dalton closed his eyes and leaned on a wall.

“I know…”

He knew and he hated it. He had told Preach that they were soldiers, that it was what they were supposed to do… But he wanted nothing more than to take his team back to Turkey.

“Dalton, it’s your team, it’s your call…” Patricia said gently. “But it’s far bigger than just a kid being kidnapped… We’re talking about high treason within important governmental institutions… We have to be very careful… We’re working on getting evidences, you work on saving the kid…”

“Copy…”

The communication stopped, but he stayed still. What was he supposed to do? Sending back Jaz in that hotel seemed like a bad idea, but if she didn’t, the boy was going to die, alone and afraid, and the thought was unbearable. He knew that Jaz would never be okay with that, that she would want to go back without hesitation. And it made him sick. There wasn’t a single good choice, all the options were bad, and it felt like trying to catch water with his hand.   
The situation was slipping through his fingers, and he couldn’t do a damn thing about it.

OoOoOoO

When Jaz woke up, she found McG staring at her.

“Jeez, Jaz, you look like crap!” he joked.

“Thank you” she croaked.

She almost rolled her eyes, but her head hurt too much. Her whole body hurt too much. She winced with pain when she tried to sit, and McG helped her. She looked at her surroundings, then at the bandage on her shoulder.

“We’re in a safe house… Top used Malden’s burn phone to call us… You’ve lost consciousness, but it had more to do with exhaustion than your wounds, you lost blood, but you don’t need transfusion… With fluids and rest, you’ll be back on your feet in no time!”

She huffed at the perfusion pinning her in bed, making McG smirk.

“Come on, Jaz, it’s only been an hour! And don’t complain, thank to me, you don’t need any more injection than the antibiotics I gave you…”

But she wasn’t listening to him. She looked up as Dalton came into the room. He smiled to her, but it didn’t reach his eyes. He looked exhausted, tensed, like the weight of the world was crushing his shoulders. 

“How are you feeling?” he asked, staying a few feet away.

He was struggling to compartmentalize, he had to remain professional, because she deserved it. He crossed his arms to stop himself from touching her.

“I’m fine, Top…”

“McG, can you give us a minute?”

McG glanced between the two of them and stood.

“Sure… She’s going to be fine, but she needs some rest…”

Dalton nodded and waited for the doc to leave the room. Then, he took the empty seat and faced Jaz. She was studying his face and she raised her eyebrows to whatever she read on his features.

“I’m going back to the hotel…” she said. 

“They have the boy… “

How could he keep her safe without betraying her trust? It was impossible and he wanted to yell his frustration.

“Jaz, you’re hurt, and I’m…”

“I’m fine. Top, I’ve been through worse…”

Didn’t he know that? He would never forget how bad she looked in that van back in Iran.

“I am fine. I can do it…”

“You don’t have to…”

The words were out of his mouth before he could stop them. She frowned and shifted on the bed.

“What do you mean?” 

He sighed and stood to pace in the room.

“It’s no longer safe…”

Jaz snorted.

“We don’t do safe…”

“What I mean is that there is a huge difference between going undercover unknown and going undercover when we know it’s a set up and you’re one of the targets… “

“Would you stop pacing, please? It makes me dizzy…”

He rubbed his hair and his beard, before finally sitting back and looking at her.

“There is a boy out there, who lost his mom, and who is alone and terrified… I know how it feels, when you’re a child, to be alone and afraid…”

He felt that familiar rage he always felt when she talked about her shitty childhood. He took a deep breath. This rage didn’t belong to him, even if the urge to protect her was more and more impossible to ignore.

“He has a father, who was ready to kill to get him back… We can’t just step back… Top, do you think I can do it?”

“You know it’s not about trust…”

“Do you think I can do it?” she asked again, stubbornly.

It was his turn to study her face. The bruises and the scars didn’t make her less beautiful, it made her more real and fierce and powerful and strong, and he wasn’t sure to have the words to describe how in awe he was of her… Those feelings he had started to acknowledge were overwhelming, terrifying, but he was tired of pushing them away. He didn’t know what it would mean for them, he didn’t even know how she felt about him, beyond the obvious deep connection and care between them. It wasn’t the right time or place, but eventually, he would have to think about all the implications.

He nodded. He wasn’t sure to be able to agree out loud, so he looked away and stood.

“Get some rest…”

He stopped in the doorway, didn’t turn to face her.

“I thought you were dead… For hours, you were just… They found a body, and…”

His voice was strangled. 

“Top… Adam… I’m here…”

Her voice was soft when she said his name, and it sent a wave of emotions through him. He wanted nothing more than turning around and closing his arms around her to never let her go. He closed his eyes, shook his head, and he left the room, still feeling her eyes on him. He was used to fighting himself, but this time he wasn’t sure he wanted to win.

OoOoOoOoO

They had gathered around Jaz to go over the plan. They had considered every option, but it always came to the same conclusion. She had to go back alone. Dalton wanted to go with her, but Victor knew him and would suspect that something was wrong. They had thought about sending Preach as her new body guard, but then, MacArthur would be the one suspecting something. He had been informed that they had Jaz back and that they were patching her up to send her back to the mission. Officially, they had found her hidden somewhere in Durban Point. He ignored that Malden was with them. 

The guys didn’t like it. They all had felt guilty when Jaz had been taken in Iran, for putting killing Jarif before her safety. And even if Jaz assured them that it was just part of the job, they didn’t like the familiar pattern.

They also kept glancing at their captain, knowing how bad the mission could go, and how hard it was for him to just let her go, a few hours after believing her dead. 

She had a body cam, and Dalton was just staring at the screen. The plan was to use her as a bait, to distract Victor while the DIA was searching for clues about MacArthur implication and about where the kid could be held. Malden was going to reappear, he knew that Macarthur would think that he had been in some bar or strip club, like he had already done since his wife’s death.

“Are you okay Top?” Preach asked.

Top looked over his shoulder at his friend, and glanced at Amir and McG who were working out in a corner.

“Why wouldn’t I be?”

Preach came to sit with him.

“It’s not a shame to be afraid for the people we care about…”

Dalton didn’t answer. He didn’t know what to say. Words would always be too much or not enough. He had had a glimpse of how it would feel to have her dead, and it was still haunting him. But he trusted her, she was bold and talented and strong. She would be okay.


	10. Chapter 10

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hey, thank you so much for the reviews, it’s just adorable, encouraging, thank you!  
> I barely slept those last days since I keep fighting on Twitter to get our show back (@RedeployTBrave it’s me ), and I’m encouraging you to do so if you want another network to pick up The Brave… I never thought I was going to use Twitter one day, and here I am, tweeting like crazy!  
> Anyway, since I’m exhausted, there are probably some mistakes, and I’m sorry for that!  
> Hope you’ll like it and make my day (or my night since it’s very late here) by letting me your opinion or just saying Hi :D

Jaz had always trusted her instincts. 

When she was just a little girl, she used to anticipate when her father was going to lose it. It wasn’t that hard, because the only days he didn’t, were the days he wasn’t home. But still, she was able to see the blow coming and to hide before it came. Sometimes it worked, other times… Well, she still had scars to remind her that her gut had probably saved her from worse.

When she had met the guys for the first time, she had fought her instincts. By the time she had made it to the Omega Forces, she had built up the thickest walls around her and didn’t let anyone be close to her emotionally. People were disappointing, period. 

And that, even if Elijah looked like the kindest and funniest man on earth, even if Preach was acting like the father figure she never had, even if she had felt that McG and his handsomeness would be far more complicated to understand than what his bright smile implied.   
And even if she felt driven to her CO, more than she should, more than rules allowed, more than she had felt in her entire life.

Her gut was telling her to trust him, and that was so out of character for her. She didn’t do trust. Trust meant vulnerability, vulnerability meant hurt. The only place she trusted others was on the field, and that was because she didn’t have a choice. It was probably what had led her to be the best sniper. She was the one on over watch, and she was the one the other soldiers had to rely on, while she didn’t have to trust them too much. 

It had changed, she had changed. Each of her guys had made his way through her walls. She had learnt to trust, and she had allowed herself to hope. For more, for maybe something bigger than just dying on the field. Like a family. And that hope was terrifying her. Losing them was terrifying her. The flutter in her chest anytime her captain was looking at her, or laughing, or just giving her that smile he seemed to keep just for her… It was terrifying her. She could handle one night stand relationships, but the idea of actually being involved with someone was just suffocating. Loving and being loved, that wasn’t easy for her. Her parents didn’t love each other, they didn’t even love her, at least not like parents were supposed to. She had grown up thinking that love was pain and hurt and loneliness. Of course, she had realized how wrong she had been, but it didn’t make things easier. He was kind, and respectful, and the best leader she had ever had. She had worked so hard to be in his team, she certainly wasn’t going to screw everything by falling in love with him. She could push away those feelings. But she could at least trust him. Trust them. And she had. 

Yes, her gut had always been right.

So, when the receptionist of the hotel gave her a package that had been left for her, she knew deep down that it wasn’t good.

She took it and went back to her room. She bit her lips and took a deep breath. Whatever it was, it was related to Victor, she could feel it. The man was dangerous, Hoffmann had told them that he had an oversized ego, and if he wanted to seek revenge on her, she wouldn’t put her guys in danger. She tried to forget Dalton’s worried eyes, and turned off her body cam. She took off her jacket and opened the package. It was a box, with a memory stick in it, and a folded paper with an address written on it. She swallowed hard and licked her lips. She probably should call her team, tell them about the USB and let the DIA deal with it. But she had a computer, and she was supposed to use her burner phone only if it was urgent. 

She had been careful while coming back at the hotel. McG had patched her up, Malden had reappeared, as if nothing had happened, and the mission was going on. If MacArthur was really a traitor, then Victor probably already knew what had happened, and was going to act very soon.

She shook her head, and took her computer. 

When the video started, her heart stopped. The first thing she saw was a kid. A little dark haired boy asleep on a mattress… At least she hoped he was just asleep...   
And he was young, so young. Her heart sank.

The image changed and a familiar face appeared. Victor was smiling at the camera.

“Hello dear, do you remember me? I’ve been quite disappointed with our last appointment; I believe we have some catching up to do…”

He moved to sit next to the little boy and the camera followed him. Victor took a gun and pointed it casually at the kid. Jaz felt like she was going to throw up with fear. Cold sweat gathered in her forehead while she watched the screen.

“I have something I think you’re looking for… What about a deal? You, against the boy? You’ll find the address in the little package I left you… See you soon dear… I can’t wait!” 

The video stopped. The silence in her room was deafening. What was she supposed to do? Top was going to be pissed… She would be lying if she said that she wasn’t afraid. She had always thought that she would die on the field, quick and clean with a bullet. Being powerless, at the mercy of a man who probably hated her, wasn’t part of the plan. She closed her eyes for a few seconds. She thought again about the letters she had wrote to the people she loved, her team. She thought about her mother, who hadn’t seen her daughter for three years and was maybe going to have to deal with the news of her death. She thought about Top, about what she would have wanted to tell him before...

She slowly closed her computer. He was just a little boy.

OoOoOoO

When Jaz’s body cam went off, Dalton frowned at the black screen. She was supposed to keep it on, except during the night, or in the bathroom.

“Preach? What’s wrong with the body cam?” he asked, his voice tensed.

Preach shook his head while checking on his computer.

“I don’t know, I don’t think it’s a technical issue… Seems like it had been turned off…”

Dalton and the guys exchanged worried glances. He took the phone but the sat phone rang. He huffed in frustration and answered.

“Patricia… Jaz’s camera is off, what’s going on?”

“I don’t know, Adam, I was calling you about a video Jaz had just sent us… It was in a package that had been left for her at the hotel… I think you might want to see this… Look…”

The video showed a little boy asleep, and Dalton knew why this video had been sent to Jaz. He couldn’t stop the wave of hatred he felt when he saw Victor, and the flood of panic when the man asked for Jaz to exchange her life for the boy’s. 

“Shit…” said McG.

Adam’s eyes widened in horror, as he realized why her body cam had been turned off, and what she was going to do. He rushed to the cell phone he was using for this mission and dialed Jaz’s burner phone.

“Top…”

He closed his eyes briefly, relief overwhelming him when he heard her voice.

“Jaz… What’s going on? Why did you turn off your body cam? Are you okay?”

He was met by silence.

“Jaz?”

He heard her take a deep breath.

“I’m sorry, Top… I don’t have a choice…”

Dalton shook his head, his heart racing in his chest. He tried to sound calm, while all his instincts were yelling at him to pull her back, to take her out of the mission.

“What are you talking about, Jaz? We’ll find a way, like we always do…”

“He’s just a little boy, Top…”

Her voice was defeated and determined at the same time. He took a shaky breath and mentioned to Preach and James to go after her at the hotel. Victor wouldn’t recognize them, and if they were fast enough, they would be at Jaz’s door before she did something stupid. He had to keep her on the phone.

“I know Jaz, and we’ll do everything to get him back safe and sound, but you have to stay in your room…”

“Top, I have to go. He’s going to kill him, I can stop that, I have to stop that…”

“No, no no, you…”

He stood and began pacing in the room, his voice dripping with anger and fear. 

“Jaz” he growled. “You’re staying in your room, that’s an order…”

He knew that he wasn’t going to convince her, but he couldn’t just sit there and wait for Preach to make it at the hotel on time.

“Top…”

“You listen to me Jaz, there is no way in hell I’m letting you go, okay? We’re a team, we’re making the calls as a team!”

“I’m the one he wants…”

“Jaz, as your captain, I’m telling you to stay in your room, it’s an order!”

He sounded desperate but didn’t care anymore.

“Top…”

“I won’t, I can’t, Jaz, you can’t just go…”

His voice wavered and he had to close his eyes to keep a hold on his feelings.

“You’re the best CO I’ve ever had, and I’m grateful for our team…”

“Jaz, no, NO, you listen to me? You stay where you are, we’re going to find a way, we always do, trust me!”

Her voice was strangled.

“Adam… He could kill the kid… I’ll do my best to kick his ass… But if I can’t… I… I just wanted you to know how proud I am… I… I’m not good with words, but I…”

“Jaz, no, listen to me, okay, everything is going to be okay, you listen to me, it’s going to be fine, just please, please stay in your room…” he begged her.

He wanted to run out to the safe house, to race to the hotel, to lock her in the room, where she was safe. 

“Don’t blame yourself…”

“Jaz!”

“I’m sorry…”

She hung up and he had to stop himself from throwing the phone against a wall. McG’s phone rang.

“McG… yeah… Okay…”

He glanced at Dalton.

“Top… Preach is at the hotel… Jaz is gone…”


	11. Chapter 11

Jaz didn’t want to die. There was a huge difference between being willing to die, for your country, for your loved ones, and actually wanting to die.

She had wanted to die, once, though, when she was sixteen. She was going to high school, and hiding her bruises behind huge sweaters. She was lonely, had no friends, she couldn’t, it was too risky. If anyone came too close to her, she was afraid not to be able to hide anymore, to hide her wounds, to hide the truth of her life. At least, with no friends, she was just the weirdo, but no one was looking at her with pity or disgust. She was almost normal. High school was her bubble of safety. Far from perfect, but safe.  
Then, one day, her father showed up at school. He had never bothered to pick her up, to come visit during school events, so, when she stepped out of the school to find him walking toward her, she just froze. He was yelling, she couldn’t even understand what he was saying. Blood was rushing in her ears, and she was petrified by the glances thrown at them. Students whispering, while looking at her, pointing her father, laughing at her, or pitying her.

Her bubble had burst. 

He had grabbed her arm and had dragged her to his car, throwing her inside. That day, he had almost killed her. Her fault: she had forgotten to iron one of his shirts.   
The next day, she was so in a bad shape she couldn’t go to school. She couldn’t stay at home either, not when her father was hanging around, not when her mother was avoiding her. So, she went for a walk, limping, with a knife in her pocket. She couldn’t live that way anymore, she was alone, no one would never come for her, so, what was the point. She wouldn’t be missed… 

Then, she didn’t really remember how, she had found herself inside a sport club, watching people boxing. Men only. And she didn’t know how, she had found herself boxing since that day. First in the shadow, watching the exercises and trying to do the same. She had put the knife back in the kitchen, and had spent hours training alone, in a corner of the boxing gym, after school. The owner, a veteran named Mitch, had studied her, his eyes lingering on the purple bruises on her face and on every visible skin. He never said anything. He just kept telling her that she had to pay, but he never actually asked her for money. He had let her use the equipment, and the men had let her train with them. She had kept training for months, getting better and better, but avoiding competitions, to Mitch’s disappointment. But she had never trained to win some fancy medal. She had trained to survive. Because she never actually wanted to die. Because no one was never going to come for her. She had had to learn how to fight back by herself.

And she had. The last day she had seen her father, years ago, he had tried to hit her, on her graduation day, and she had fought back. Then she had packed her belongings and had fled, legs shaking, heart beating madly, but relieved and free. She had spent the first night in the street, and then, Mitch had offered her to stay in his office for a few days. She had enlisted and army had been her home since that day.

She wanted to live. Even more since Iran.

Hearing Top begging her not to go had been harder than she had expected. They had been toeing this invisible line for years, and she hated the idea of never finding out if her feelings were shared. She remembered that bucket list she had written when she was twelve, after watching one of those teen movies. Never falling in love was at the top of the list. That was quite ironical.  
Hell, she wanted so bad to turn around and to come back to the hotel. But she would never be able to face herself, she would never be able to forgive herself if anything happened to Malden’s son. 

She still had a chance, she was one of the best at close combat, she was small and thin but fast and strong. Once the boy was safe, she was going to kick Victor’s ass. If he didn’t kill her first, of course.

She wasn’t stupid. She had hidden the note with the address in the hotel room, she knew that they were going to find it at some point. She had had to buy some time, to make sure the kid was safe. She knew her team was the best, but she also knew how protective Top could be. He would have never let her go alone, not when knowing that she was the target, not after Iran. Setting a honey trap was different than walking into the lion’s den.   
She didn’t know what was going to happen to her, but she knew that her guys would come and finish Victor if she hadn’t been able to finish him herself.  
Top would be furious, he hated when she went off book. Preach had told her once that she was driving him crazy with concern, but that keeping him on his toes was also what made them a great pair. She had shrugged, getting defensive, but she knew deep down that he was worried for her safety. He had never made her feel like she was unable to protect herself, though. 

But yeah, he was definitely going to be furious.

oOoOoOoOo

Dalton was angry. No, he was beyond angry, he was furious. How could she? They were a team, he was her captain, how could she just throw all that away? She was so damn stubborn, and proud, and infuriating, and unpredictable, and he was terrified of losing her. 

He kept crossing his arms to hide how his hands were shaking. Didn’t she realize that losing her would affect the team? That it would destroy him?  
They had found the address, hidden in the room, and they were driving through the town, as fast as they could in the morning circulation. The silence was tense, each of them aware of all the possible scenarios. 

Jaz had always worked well in a team, despite having been lonely for years. But they couldn’t say they were surprised that she left. She could handle many things, but being responsible for an innocent death was too much for her, especially if this innocent happened to be a child. They all remembered how guilty she had felt about Hussein’s death. Top knew it too, but his fear of losing her was overwhelming.

The place was a random house in Durban suburb. Nothing seemed out of place, but they knew she was there. Dalton frowned as they listened to what was happening in the house. The voices were a little bit muffled but they still could understand. Dalton couldn’t help the shaky breath of relief when he heard her voice.

“Well, well, well… I’m glad to see you dear. Our last appointment had been quite a disaster, don’t you think?” Victor said.

“It was quite a success in my opinion…”

Dalton shook his head, not believing how sassy she still was, even alone and threatened.

“Funny, really… Too bad I don’t get to see your pretty boyfriend, I think I owe him… But maybe he isn’t your boyfriend? I bet on the blond one, the captain…”

They could almost hear the smirk in Victor’s voice.

“Where is the boy?”

Her voice was steady to anyone who didn’t know her. But Dalton did know her, and he could hear how angry and worried she was.

“Are you in a hurry, dear? I think we have some time… Would you like a cup of tea?”

“You asked for me in exchange of the boy, I’m here, let him go.”

They heard a slap and a grunt. McG winced while Preach looked worriedly at their captain. Dalton clenched his fists. They had to wait for Amir’s signal, bursting into the place could be dangerous for both Jaz and the boy.

“I’m usually a gentleman, except when people mock me. Have a sit, please…”

There was a silence. Then another grunt, and the noise of a chaise being pulled on the ground.

“You’re a fierce one, aren’t you? It’s fine, it will be funnier…”

Dalton felt a cold chill running in his back… He could tell that McG and Preach didn’t like it either.

“Now, you’re going to tell me everything you know about The New World… And then, dear, you’re telling me where your friends are hidden…”

They heard her laugh. Dalton closed his eyes, his jaw tense.

“Good luck with that, dear…”

“You’re not afraid of dying, are you? “

Preach snorted and Dalton gritted his teeth. Victor was right, she wasn’t afraid of dying, visibly non aware of how it would affect them. He knew she wasn’t used to have people who cared about her, but if Tehran should have taught her something, it was that they would never leave her behind. That he was always coming for her, no matter what. As her captain, and also as a man. 

“Believe me, once I’m finished with you, you’ll beg me to kill you…” Victor snarled.

“Top?”

“Amir, what do we have?”

“Three tangos in the kitchen, four tangos in the backyard. Probably more inside…”

The three men exchanged concerned looks. Dalton looked at the house, assessing their options.

“We’ve been through worse… Remember that hospital in Syria?” asked McG.

“Yeah, but it’s easier to enter a hospital than a house…” Preach retorted.

“Knowing Victor, there probably are security cameras… Noah?”

“Working on it Captain!” said Noah in his earpiece.

“Okay, Amir, any other entry?”

“The adjacent house?” he suggested.

Jaz’s hiss of pain rang through the mike. Preach glanced at Top, worried he might snap like he did in Iran. 

“We’re going. Fast and clean, the kid is still to be found. We can’t risk both their lives.”

“Copy!”

OoOoOoOoO

Jaz was expecting the pain. She hissed but didn’t cry. She wouldn’t give him that satisfaction. What Victor didn’t know was that she was used to feel pain. So, she did what she used to do when the pain became unbearable. She escaped her own body, hiding in memories no one would never take from her.

The first time Top had seen the scars on her knee, he had looked at her with an intensity that had made her uncomfortable. There was anger and pain in his eyes, and something she misread.  
“Don’t pity me…” she had told him coldly.  
He had put a hand on her knee and that had been the first physical contact he had willingly initiated. She could still feel how hot and rough his hand was. How it had made her pulse quicken, and her throat dry.  
“I feel a lot of things when you’re concerned, Jaz, but pity isn’t one of them…” he had said.  
Then he had stood and left her alone, missing his hand as soon as it left her skin, and wondering what had just happened, what he did mean by his words.

“See what you make me do?” Victor spat. “I’ve never hit a woman before! I called you, you know… But of course it was a fake number!”

“Aw, did I break your poor little heart?” she said with a smirk.

The next blow almost knocked her out. 

She escaped again, her mind travelling through her memories.

The first time Adam had cried in her arms. His father had just died, he hadn’t talked to him in years, so the pain he had felt had been unexpected, hitting him like a truck, and had left him feeling a loss he never thought possible to feel. She had found him sitting alone in the dark and when she had sat next to him, he had turned to her, hiding his face in the crook of her neck. Stunned, she had awkwardly put her arms around him and had let him cry. She hadn’t said a word, Preach was the one who always knew what to say, but Top hadn’t seem to be in need of wise words. He had just hugged her afterwards. Then, he had told her about the happy memories he had with his father. There were few of them, but at the end, they were both smiling, and closer than never.   
And that time, when her guys had cooked a birthday cake just for her. Top had had some flour on the cheek, and before realizing what she was doing, she had swept it with her fingers. Eli and McG had kept teasing her about it for days, not that they did it in front of their captain, the cowards. But she would never forget the softness in Adam’s eyes when she had blown the candles, beaming at them. She had started to like birthdays from that very day.

She had had more happy memories in the last three years than in her whole life. It could be a sad statement, but it wasn’t, not for her. Her team had made her happy, each one in his own way, but Adam was there every single time.

They made her feel loved and safe. He made her feel so many things.

She felt blood running along her face, she tasted blood in her mouth. Victor was using his bare hands, she didn’t even know what he was asking anymore. His words were blurry and everything was fading. 

He pushed her head in a pail of cold water, almost drowning her. 

“Come on, sweetheart, you tell me what I want to know, and then we can have fun…”

She could handle a lot of things, but being touched in…that way, against her will, wasn’t something she would deal with. 

But something beeped in the room. Victor raised his eyebrows and smiled.

“Looks like we have some company… But this time, I’m ready…”

She didn’t even know what he meant, and didn’t react when he pressed something cold and metallic on her temple, a gun, obviously. The kid was still asleep and she couldn’t stop the sigh of relief that escaped her.

Then the door burst open, revealing Amir and Top. Amir looked shocked, Top’s blue eyes darkened at the sight of her blood.

The gun pressed harder on her skin.

“Well, captain Dalton, what a pleasure to see you again…”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I know, it’s been a while. I’ve been busy, with my other fiction Hold On, with holidays, family, work, life. I hope you’re still reading The Brave fictions, and that you’ll enjoy this new (long) chapter. One more and it should be complete! Thanks for reading!


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